Our Mission

The Mission of the Institute is to provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.

CEO Notes

As you have read on these pages, we are reemphasizing essay contests. They have been an integral part of the Naval Institute since 1878, when members of the Institute’s Board created the Prize Essay Contest. This became the General Prize Essay Contest in 1948 and was later temporarily renamed the Arleigh Burke Essay Contest. Past winners include Commander Alfred Thayer Mahan (1879), Lieutenant Ernest J. King (1909), Lieutenant Commander James Stavridis (1984), Lieutenant David Adams (1997), and Lieutenant Thomas R. Williams (2000).

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